Saturday marked the first day that rising juniors could commit to a college hockey program.
Five New England players, born in 2003 or 2004, pledged to a school on Saturday, while seven schools from the region landed new recruits. Harvard led the way with three players announcing their intention to join the Crimson pipeline.
Below is an in-depth look at all the players from New England or those who committed to a college within the region on Saturday.
Harvard commits three with pedigree
Saturday marked the first day that rising juniors could commit to a college hockey program.
Five New England players, born in 2003 or 2004, pledged to a school on Saturday, while seven schools from the region landed new recruits. Harvard led the way with three players announcing their intention to join the Crimson pipeline.
Below is an in-depth look at all the players from New England or those who committed to a college within the region on Saturday.
Harvard commits three with pedigree
Milan Hejduk and Eric Healey both played in the NHL, with the former racking up 805 points in 1,020 career games with the Colorado Avalanche. Their sons will both play for coach Ted Donato at Harvard.
Ryan Healey is an athletic, offensive defenseman from Hull, Mass. The ’04 has come up through the Boston Advantage program, where he will play next season. Healey had five goals and eight assists in 18 games last winter. His skating and ability to move pucks and push possession are incredible assets. He was picked in the first round of the 2020 USHL Phase 1 draft by the Sioux Falls Stampede. In addition to his father’s two games with the Bruins and long, successful AHL career, both his parents played college hockey at RPI.
Hejduk has twins, forward Marek and defenseman David. The ’04s played this past season for the Colorado Thunderbirds 15-U. Marek is a slick, skilled winger who can make plays. The one knock on him is his tendency to be a little perimeter at times. Marek, who will skate for USA Hockey’s NTDP this upcoming season, is the more heralded recruit of the twins. He put up eight goals and eight assists in 17 games in 2019-20. David is a defenseman who registered three goals and eight assists in 20 games.
Powell, Welsh commit to the Eagles
Boston College received commitments from USA Hockey NTDP U-17 defenseman Seamus Powell and Brunswick School center Connor Welsh.
Powell will join the NTDP for this coming season after spending a couple of seasons playing for former Eagle Chris Collins with Rochester Coalition. When Powell gets to BC, he’ll be joining older brother Eamon, who is going to be a freshman for Jerry York’s Eagles in 2020-21. The brothers are similar in that they are both puck-moving defensemen with great mobility and hockey sense. Seamus had 17 goals and 31 assists in 63 Midget games last season.
Welsh, a right shot ’04 from Greenwich, Conn., is a player with considerable upside. He’s not come close to scratching the surface of how good he can be. His quick twitch in his stride and his ability to play a complete game are what stand out. He had six goals and 14 assists in 30 prep games for the Brunswick Bruins this past winter. He’s played previously for Mid Fairfield Rangers and North Jersey Avalanche. In addition to BC, a couple of other Hockey East and ECAC Hockey schools made offers to Welsh.
UMass lands McEwen, Emerson
I think it could be argued that UMass had the best day of any local school on Saturday, with news that Selects Academy defenseman Shaun McEwen and Kent School forward Michael Emerson will be joining the Minutemen in the future.
McEwen is a solid two-way defensemen from nearby Hadley, Mass. He is the grandson of former UMass and Princeton coach Don “Toot” Cahoon, who played college hockey for Boston University. According to multiple sources, UMass was able to beat out the Terriers to land the ’04 defenseman. McEwen is extremely athletic and can do it all from the blue line. He has a hard shot and can contribute offensively while playing a mean, physical style in his own zone. A third-round pick of Tri-City in the USHL Phase 1 draft, McEwen had 21 goals and 49 assists in 66 games for Ryan Ward’s 15-U team at South Kent last season.
Emerson is a smart forward whose development is heading on an upward trajectory. The ’03 from Yorktown Heights, N.Y., had a monster 16-U season for North Jersey Avalanche, scoring 20 goals and dishing out 24 helpers. He was rewarded by being picked by the Chicago Steel in the USHL Phase 2 draft.
Two prep forwards for Terriers
Boston University received commitments from Tabor left wing Shane Lachance and Trinity-Pawling center Jack Musa.
If the Lachance name sounds familiar to Terrier fans, it’s because it should be. His father, Scott, starred for BU during the 1990-91 season before being picked in the first round of the NHL draft by the New York Islanders. He’s now head of U.S. Scouting for the New Jersey Devils. Shane’s grandfather is legendary BU coach Jack Parker. Suffice it to say, Lachance’s commitment shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. The ’03 played last season for the Seawolves as a repeat sophomore after spending his first two seasons at Andover High. In 28 games, Lachance buried 13 goals and got better in the second half. He’s a big power forward who can protect pucks and put the puck in the back of the net. Lachance, who played split season for the River Rats, is another prospect who is seemingly trending in the right direction. He was a ninth-round pick of Tri-City in the USHL Phase 2 draft this past May.
Musa, an ’03 from Orange Park, Fla., is growing, but he’s still on the smaller side. That doesn’t stop him from having a bulldog mentality when going into the corners and finding his way into scoring areas. While he can score goals, he’s also able to hunt pucks and find open teammates. He had nine goals and 21 assists in 24 prep games for Trinity-Pawling. Musa played split season for the North Jersey Avalanche and previously skated for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite youth program. Musa’s brother, Joe, is an ’00 set to be a freshman on the hockey team at Dartmouth. His dad, also Joe, played college hockey at Western New England College.
Friars add Loughnane, Kocsis
Thayer defenseman Declan Loughnane and Honeybaked left wing Christian Kocsis both committed to Providence on Saturday.
Loughnane is a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman from Milton, Mass. A late ’03, he made his prep debut in 2019-20 after playing at BC High as a freshman. In 27 games for Tony Amonte’s Tigers, Loughnane had seven goals and 18 assists. He has a good shot, makes good breakout passes and plays with some jam away from the puck. Prior to committing to PC, Loughnane might be best known to local hockey fans for scoring the game-winning goal in the fourth overtime of the 2019 Super 8 final at TD Garden. He’s the third member of the 2018-19 BC High team to commit to Providence, joining twin brothers Peter and Joseph Kramer. His USHL rights are owned by the Dubuque Fighting Saints, the organization that picked him in 2019.
Kocsis, from Lansing, Mich., is a hard-nosed, two-way forward. He scored 49 goals and 51 assists in 55 games for Honeybaked 15-U. Kocsis isn’t the most skilled player, but he’s strong and wins a lot of puck battles. He was a second-round pick of the Lincoln Stars in the 2020 USHL Phase 1 draft.
Cerbone picks Michigan
Brunswick School leading scorer Andon Cerbone has committed to play college hockey at Michigan. The ’04 was invited to the NTDP Evaluation Camp that was canceled due to the coronavirus. The Stamford, Conn., native ended up being the 11th overall pick in the USHL Phase 1 draft courtesy of the Chicago Steel. In 31 games for Brunswick, he had 11 goals and 36 assists. Cerbone is highly skilled and has very good offensive instincts. His ability to play away from the puck and be more of a complete player are areas of his game that will need to be worked on before matriculating to Ann Arbor.
Quinnipiac adds an elite skater
North Jersey Avalanche defenseman Nicky Wallace committed to Quinnipiac. The ’03 from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., is an incredible skater who is able to break pucks out of his own zone with regularity. While his hockey sense could be questioned, his breakout ability and hard shot are undisputed. In addition to time spent with the Avalanche, he appeared in two USHL games for Tri-City Storm. His rights in that league are now owned by the Madison Capitols.
A surprise commitment for AIC
It’s not often, if ever, that head coach Eric Lang and American International get involved in the young recruits. However, the Yellow Jackets made an exception Saturday by committing Springfield Pics 16-U right wing Matus Hadusovsky. The Slovakian is a power forward with skill who dazzled in this past January’s USPHL 16-U All-Star Game.
UConn adds incoming Gunnery forward
Connecticut received a commitment from ’04 forward Michael Murtagh, who played last season with the River Rats 15-U and Albany Academy. He had seven goals and 10 assists in 34 games with the Cadets in 2019-20. The East Greenbush, N.Y., native is best known for his skating.
